Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

New Mexico, Navajo Nation sign water pact

|
|
 
  
Published: April 19, 2005 at 7:28 PM

SANTA FE, N.M., April 19 (UPI) -- New Mexico and Navajo officials Tuesday signed an historic settlement resolving claims of the Navajo Nation to water from the San Juan River.

Gov. Bill Richardson, state Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley signed the pact that resolves water rights questions between the two sovereign governments.

"This agreement also sets the stage for future economic development in the Four Corners region -- which has been jeopardized in the past because of the uncertainty of available water rights," Richardson said.

The settlement adjudicates water rights and provides associated water development projects that benefit the Navajo Nation in exchange for a release of claims to water that could have potentially displaced existing non-Navajo users in the river basin.

The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will be the cornerstone of proposed development projects in the area of northwest New Mexico.

Topics: Bill Richardson, Navajo Nation, Patricia Madrid
© 2005 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Notable deaths of 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee AmfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala
Indianapolis 500 Presidential Medal of Freedom Memorial Day around the nation
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 20
Singer Janelle Monae arrives at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards in Universal City, California
View Caption
Singer Janelle Monae arrives for the MTV Movie Awards at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. UPI/Jim Ruymen
fark
The bar for spelling has never been lowre
Turns out men cheat way more than women after all
Famous last words: "The notion that it's too late to do anything is comical. It's hilarious. We're...
Five secrets to getting the best healthcare. #6: Don't get sick
Traveling to the U.S.? If invited to a dinner party, bring a gift of wine, but not cash or toiletries...
Man turns dead pet cat into remote-controlled helicopter, calls it art (w/WTF pics)